Indiana State is the best of the bunch, at No. 21 in the NCAA's RPI and with a 12-8 win over IU this season in Terre Haute. But if the Sycamores are Indiana's toughest competition, then I think the Hoosiers have every right to be confident about this weekend.

+ It'll just be a number after first pitch this weekend, but grabbing a national seed for the first time in Big Ten history is an accomplishment that shouldn't be overlooked.

A national seed is a body-of-work achievement, and one out of reach for many northern teams. Indiana's practice of scheduling tough and away from home early in the season is hardly unique, but it's very hard for cold-weather teams to pick up those key early wins and then back them up with consistent weekend and midweek results, enough to build a top-eight resume.

Even Louisville, the standard bearer for "northern" baseball for the last several years, never managed a national seed.

There will probably be some fall-off for Indiana next season, considering how big of a talent drain the lineup will endure.

But both for the program and the conference, picking up that kind of respect and recognition is arguably as important as going to the College World Series. It says a northern team can compete at the sport's highest level over an entire season.

+ Indiana should know well the dangers of underrating a Horizon League club, after nearly losing its opener to Valparaiso last year.

But the Penguins also shouldn't be made to be any bigger than they are. They only have four players hitting over .280 and no regular starting pitcher has an earned run average under 5.00.

Yes, Youngstown State had some knack for getting hot when it was most useful. But even last year, Valpo was an experienced group that had been to the NCAA tournament before and posed some threat on merit. Indiana's opponent Friday can't really say that.

+ Stanford is a traditional powerhouse, with nine College World Series appearances since 1990 (although none since 2008). But the Cardinal, who finished 16-14 in the Pac-12 this year, were a firm bubble team until they saw their name called Monday.

That said, Stanford also finished the season 11-3, and even some of its losses to NCAA tournament teams -- like Vanderbilt, Texas, Rice and Oregon State -- were close.

The Cardinal have a solid pitching staff that's anchored by John Hochstatter (10-1, 2.62 ERA), who has started seven times this season and has an impressive .202 batting average against.

This is a bubble team, but probably not one so weak as Florida a year ago.

+ That leaves Indiana State, which should feel good about where it stands heading into the weekend.

The Sycamores split the season series with IU, winning at home before losing in Bloomington. They're close to home and shouldn't be shaken by their surroundings, having seen Bart Kaufman Field before.

Indiana State led the Missouri Valley in team ERA this season (3.23), but of some concern is the fact that they crashed out of their conference tournament in two games, both losses. The Sycamores finished tied for second in the MVC this season, alongside Dallas Baptist and behind Evansville. A final RPI of 21 helped them immensely.

+ Not to look too far ahead, but the super regional could be tough.

Vanderbilt has some serious arms on its staff, Oregon was a national seed last year and Clemson -- though a bubble team -- is a traditional powerhouse in the ACC.

Even Xavier, at 29-27, just won its conference tournament, and skipper Scott Googins is no stranger to Tracy Smith's methods, having worked under IU's coach at Miami (Ohio).

Often times, the regional is the trickier proposition for a good team away from home. Hosting that and worrying about that will be paramount for Indiana right now, obviously.

But know that, should Indiana advance through this weekend and into the super regional, there aren't many scenarios that would appear to pave for the Hoosiers an easy road back to Omaha.

We'll have plenty of coverage as the week progresses, including those regional preview capsules and more, from IU and everyone else involved in this weekend's games. Stay tuned!